Comedy CentralLet's be honest: quite a few people name original Bendin' in the Wind among their least favourite episodes. Of course, it's all pretty much the matter of personal tastes. It's perfectly fine to dislike fully Bender-centric episodes but if you appreciate this type then it can be stated for sure: it was a solid entry of the series, and the idea of a criminal robot pursuing his lifelong dream is genuinely cute. And here we go. Forty Percent Leadbelly is a Bendin'... clone in all but name minus a real motivation (and minus a nice musical performance). It's as uninspired and bland as one would expect from a retread on something done before: it badly needs fresh ideas and a vitalizing dose of fun. Substitute post-accident disability for a troubled identity, and you got a weirdly familiar recipe for Bender's misfortunes. It should be admitted, though, the episode has got a curious redeeming quality. That is the writer's self-awareness of the struggle to come up with a good plot resolution. It doesn't quite help to build the satisfying ending anyway but it's a nice touch of meta humour saving the episode from putting it on a higher place in the list.
